San Antonio Injury Attorney Blog

In San Antonio and greater Texas, there have been several key personal injury cases in the area of premises liability in 2009.

In one case, a guest at a condominium severed his finger while sitting in a pool-side chair. The court held there was no evidence that the condo association had actual or constructive knowledge of the broken weld in the chair. A San Antonio personal injury attorney can aggressively pursue evidence of constructive or actual knowledge in premises liability cases.

In a case against the City of San Antonio alleging benzene exposure from a nearby closed municipal landfill, the Texas Supreme Court found there was no expert evidence as to the level of benzene in the plaintiff’s daughter. There were also questions concerning the association between the mother’s exposure to benzene and the daughter’s leukemia in utero. Oftentimes, benzene lawsuits in Texas hinge on the quality and strength of expert opinions on causation.

In another case, a contractor sued for personal injuries against the San Antonio property owner
when he fell through the roof while trying to repair an air conditioning unit. The court denied the property owner’s motion for summary judgment, because the plaintiff’s claim arose from the condition of the roof, not the air conditioner.

In another case out of Corpus Christi, the estate and family of a deceased inmate brought a Texas wrongful death action against a private correctional facility after the inmate was murdered by two inmates. Allegedly, the prison guards did nothing to stop the attack and the prison wardens laughed. $47.5 million was awarded in actual and punitive damages. The court held there was sufficient evidence to show negligence, and it supported the trial court’s spoliation instruction concerning the destruction of the prison’s surveillance tapes.

Although Texas reforms have put the breaks on a lot of Texas medical malpractice claims , there are still several great examples of medical negligence cases which can be brought by a Texas medical malpractice lawyer.

In one case, a patient fell from a hospital bed and alleged several acts of negligence. After initially being dismissed for failure to file a timely medical report, the Texas Supreme Court reversed and held that the claim that the claim the bed had been negligently installed was not considered a health care liability claim. Nursing home negligence cases require extensive and aggressive litigation.

In another case, plaintiff’s daughter was sexually assaulted by a nurse’s aide, and the plaintiff sued two nursing homes for failure to file misconduct reports as required under the law. The plaintiff claimed the two (2) year statute of limitations for reporting medical malpractice was tolled on account of the daughter’s mental incapacity. The Appellate Court held that the failure to report misconduct was a health care liability claim and the tolling of the statute of limitations was inapplicable.

As you can see by these two cases, there are two (2) critical aspects to a medical malpractice case in Texas : the two year statute of limitations and the necessity of an expert report within 120 days of filing suit.

In a case involving Baylor Medical Center, plaintiff alleged medical malpractice when the emergency doctors failed to discover a cerebral hemorrhage which led to permanent brain damage. The Court accepted the report filed by the plaintiff’s expert as to causation and indicated the report did not have to eliminate every possible cause of injury. In another case involving Baylor College of Medicine, plaintiff sustained injuries during a knee surgery and sued for medical malpractice. The court accepted the expert report of the orthopedic surgeon as to causation.

Medical malpractice cases are harder than ever but you will never know unless you consult with a San Antonio and greater Texas medical malpractice attorney
as soon as possible.

Imagine that your child is severely burned when the fumes from an overturned gas can burst into flames. Why does this happen ? Could it be the flames of the nearby gas water heater ? Each year, this scenario plays out multiple times in San Antonio and throughout Texas and the United States. Believe it or not, these injuries are preventable and often enough, the water heater manufacturer, the gasoline can maker, and even the natural gas company may be held accountable for negligence. It is imperative to consult with a San Antonio and greater Texas personal injury attorney immediately in such cases.

Even more disturbing is the higher incidence of accidental explosions from gas leaks. Because natural gas is colorless and odorless, a chemical malodorant must be added so that a person can smell the gas. Equipment called "odorant pots" inject the malodorant into the distribution lines of the natural gas.

Generally, an investigation of accidents involving natural gas will turn up records that demonstrate improper maintenance of the odorant pots or no levels of malodorant in the pots. In addition, the odorant may not work properly due to oxidation in the lines, creating a potential case against the manufacturer of the odorant. Finally, a Texas natural gas supplier who regularly inspects an injured party's appliances and piping may be negligent for failing to detect potential leaks.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a gasoline spill or natural gas explosion, you should contact a San Antonio and greater Texas personal injury lawyer immediately as these cases are complex and require rapid preservation of evidence.